Submarine buoy adapted to rise at an adjustable speed



Aug- 29, 1967 G. A. BARNIER SUBMARINE BUOY ADAPTED TO RISE AT AN ADJUSTABLE SPEED 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed Jan. 22, 1965 m N w m MM am ATTORNEY 1967 G. A. BARNIER 3,337,887

SUBMARINE BUOY ADAPTED TO RISE AT AN ADJUSTABLE SPEED Filed Jan. 22, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. $50265: 4/41.? fi m/war yaw? VJM,

United States Patent SUBMARINE BUOY ADAPTED T0 RISE AT AN ADJUSTABLE SPEED Georges A. Barnier, Blvd. Alexandre III, Cannes, France Filed Jan. 22, 1965, Ser. No. 427,250

Claims priority, application France, Jan. 28, 1964,

Patent 1,381,897 14 Claims. (Cl. 9-313) Submarine divers resort, for rising to the surface and possibly for other purposes, to yielding buoys which they can inflate when required with air or a compressed gas contained in a cylinder and fed into the buoy through a pressure reducer, these difi'erent parts being generally associated to form an arrangement secured to the divers body. When the buoy serves for diving down to a somewhat considerable depth in Water, the input of gas into the buoy should be performed under a comparatively high pressure since it should of necessity be higher than the pressure of water at the depth considered. In order to prevent the buoy from bursting as a consequence of a protracted admission of compressed gas, it has been proposed to provide the buoy with a ganged valve adapted to allow an escape of gas into the water whenever the pressure inside the buoy reaches a predetermined limit. Tests have been performed with such buoys, but the result was sometimes disastrous when the'diver rises too quickly to the water surface and is thus subjected to a too speedy release of pressure, which may even mean death for the diver.

It is obvious that such a buoy provided with a gauged valve is based on an objectionable principle and as a matter of fact when the diver is at the bottom and wishes to rise to the surface, he allows entrance into the buoy, under the prevailing pressure, of the volume of air corresponding to the lift which he desires to obtain. But, as the diver rises, the inner pressure drops at the same rate as the pressure of water, so that air contained in the expansible buoy expands and increases in volume without being able to escape since its pressure has sunk and is no longer suflicient for the opening of the valve, while the lifting force increases gradually so that the diver rises at an accelerated speed which may be fatal to him.

My invention has longitudinally over the divers body, for instance over his chest from the belt up to the shoulders, said buoy being provided at a suitable intermediate point with a port for the free exhaust of the gases.

When the diver immersed in Water in a normal position, with his head directed upwardly and his feet downwardly, causes compressed air to enter the buoy, said air rises immediately into the upper part of the buoy which is thus gradually inflated and when the inflated part of the buoy extends downwardly beyond the the excess air escapes upper part of the buoy cannot increase either by reason of a protracted duration of input of air or an excess pressure of the entering gases or else during the divers rising, by reason of the expansion of the gases since the excess volume thus obtained escapes freely as a continuous stream into outer water.

My invention furthermore consists in providing the diver with means for adjusting as required the amount of gas admitted into the buoy, that is its volume under the pressure prevailing at the start, so that the divers may adjust the lifting force, this being obtained by adjusting the position of the exhaust port with reference to the upper and lower ends of the buoy. This adjustment is readily performed according to my invention through the for its object a novel buoy extending 3,337,887 Patented Aug. 29, 1967 agency of a tube extending through the wall of the buoy near its upper end and adapted to fluidtightly slide inside a sleeve secured to the inside of said wall; the diver may thus adjust, before diving and before any inflation of the buoy and also during his immersion in water and subsequent rising the depth at which he is positioned and the speed at which he rises to the surface. Of course, the outer end of said tube may be closed before diving by a removable plug so as to prevent any water from entering the tube, said plug being removed as soon as the diver sinks underneath water level.

The above assumes the diver has his head directed upwardly and his feet downwardly. It may occur that, when he wishes to rise, his head is directed downwardly. In order to prevent, in such a case, the air admitted into the buoy from inflating not the shoulder section of the buoy but instead its belly section, which would oppose the divers return to normal position, I prefer not to secure the buoy to the body in an area above a suitably selected line, for instance above the middle of the chest, so that the portions of the buoy registering with the shoulders are free of any attaching means in said area and may always retain therefore a small amount of air which allows said portions to rise in the Water upon folding of the buoy wall substantially along said line. Therefore, these shoulder sections of the buoy are always those which are first inflated and the body lifting force is exerted always on the upper part of the divers body which urges said diver back into his normal upright position.

My invention also covers the shape and details of execution to be described hereinafter by way of example, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate diagrammatically the buoy shown respectively in vertical cross-section, in a medial plane parallel to the location of the divers chest and in side view.

FIG. 3 is an outer front view of a modified buoy with parts shown sectionally, said buoy including an inflatable collar surrounding the divers neck and channels feeding compressed air into the sections of the buoy registering with the divers shoulders and into the collar.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are views like FIG. 2 but showing another form of the invention, at two successive stages of inflation.

The buoy illustrated is given the general shape of a V and is positioned on the divers chest in the manner illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. Its lower end B tapers to a more or less marked manner and may be secured either to the divers leaden belt or to a special independent belt. The upper part of the buoy is subdivided into two flaps L which may rise to either side of the neck or beyond the shoulders. In an intermediate area corresponding to the bottom of the V of which the flaps form the legs, the buoy is secured to the divers chest by a broad belt C forming part of the diving suit, whereas the entire section of the buoy extending above said broad belt C is free and thus the flaps L which are normally secured for instance to the shoulders of the suit by a mere readily detachable hooking system may move away from the divers bodyupon folding of the buoy over the broad belt C.

The compressed air may be fed by means of a pipe A adapted to be connected with the pressure reducer or to reach the divers mouth through two ducts D, D provided inside the buoy and opening at d near the upper closed ends of the flaps L. Through the wall of said closed ends of each flap there extends a tube T adapted to fluidtightly slide inside a sleeve M secured to the inner surface of the flap. It is apparent that if the diver is immersed in a vertical position as illustrated, the flaps lie at a lesser depth than the remainder of the buoy and are consequently subjected to alesser compression by water than the belly section V so that if compressed air is admitted at d, said air will first be confined in the upper section of the flaps and gradually progress downwardly along the pipes T until it reaches, either of openings at the lower ends of the corresponding tubes. From this moment onwards, air may be freely exhausted outwardly whether the feeding of air A continues or said feeding has stopped and the air expanding by reason of the reduction of external pressure and simultaneously of inner pressure enters the lower section of the buoy.

If the immersed diver opens the admission of air through the pipe A while he is lying horizontally on his side or has his head directly downwardly, the upper section of the buoy is subjected to the action of residual air contained in the closed ends of the flaps and moves away from the divers body upon a folding of the buoy along a line extending above the belt C so that even for such a position of the divers body, the flaps are always inflated first and the buoy exerts a rising force on the area attached to the divers body, which immediately urges the diver back into a vertical upright position. The securing of the flaps to the shoulders of the diving suit may be performed by a hooking system constituted by two interengaging brush-shaped fittings which separate from each other as soon as one of said fittings is subjected to a traction having a component perpendicular to the cooperating surfaces of these fittings. Thus, as soon as one flap is subjected to such a tractional stress by the rising force applied to it it is automatically released and disengages from the diving suit.

A form of the invention as described above is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. As is there shown, the flattened and deflated flaps L are fixed to the divers shoulders before diving, by interengagement of the brush-type fastener portions V and V", so that the flaps will not impede his movements. After diving, he introduces air into the flaps, which expand (FIG. 4) and straighten out and thus cause detachment of the portions V and V" from each other (FIG. 5 The buoyancy of the freed flaps urges the upper part of the :body upwardly by the belt C.

Since each tube T is adapted to move inside its sleeve M, the diver may adjust as required the depth at which the lower exhaust opening or port 0 is located inside the buoy and consequently the volume to be occupied by air under predetermined pressure conditions. Said adjustment may be performed either before any immersion so that the diver may remain at the desired depth at which air continues being fed or else during the divers rising, for instance chiefly with a view to reducing the lifting force as obtained by drawing the tube outwardly so as to reduce the volume afforded for air above the ports 0.

In the modification according to FIG. 3, the buoy is furthermore provided with an inflatable collar R surrounding the divers neck. Said collar is secured to the buoy in the area adjacent the belt C or underneath the latter so as to allow the flaps L to freely move as precedingly. The feeding of compressed air is performed through the agency of a fluidtight casing H provided with two short pipes h, h" for connection respectively with a supply of compressed air and with the divers mouth; it furthermore carries a pipe S provided with ports s opening into the collar while two other pipes D enter the closed ends of the flaps L. The collar and buoy may be fed with compressed air independently of each other or otherwise.

The buoy and possibly the collar may be fed in parallel with the nozzle feeding the divers mouth with air.

My improved buoy may be controlled in various manners and used for different purposes. For instance, during the diver rising, the said diver may breathe air out of the buoy which reduces the volume of air to a value lower than that defined by the exhaust ports 0. When reaching water level, it is sufficient for the diver to close the outer ends of the pipes T or to fold them back and, if required, to feed the buoy with air from his mouth 4 so as to remain in a floating condition. By closing these outer ends of the tubes T during his rising movement, he may accelerate said movement since the volume of air increases as a consequenc of its expansion. I may also provide an automatic release opening the admission of air into the buoy when the latter reaches a predetermined depth, such an arrangement thus forming a safety for beginners or in the case of the diver sinking below a predetermined dept The lower tip of the buoy at B when it is released from the divers belt may be opened so as to allow any water which may have entered the buoy to flow out.

What I claim is:

1. A buoy for divers comprising an inflatable body adapted to be longitudinally secured over a divers body, means feeding air into the upper section of the said body,

and means for the exhaust of air out of a medial point of the length of the buoy, the last-named means offering substantially no impediment to the flow of air and water therethrough so as to maintain a fixed water level in the buoy.

2. A buoy for divers comprising an inflatable body adapted to be longitudinally secured over a divers body, means feeding air'into the upper section of the said body, means for the exhaust of air out of a medial point of the length of the buoy, and means for adjusting the location of said exhaust means longitudinally of the buoy body.

3. A buoy for divers comprising an inflatable body adapted to be longitudinally secured over a divers body, means feeding air into the upper section of the said body and a tube fluidtightly entering the upper end of the buoy and slidingly engaging the latter to open at a point registering with a desired point of the divers body,

4. A buoy for divers comprising an inflatable body, means for securing the buoy exclusively to the belly of the diver, the upper section of the buoy remaining adapted to move away from the divers body by folding of the inflatable buoy body, means feeding air into the upper section of the said body, and means for the exhaust of air out of a medial point of the length of the buoy.

5. A buoy for divers comprising an inflatable V-shaped body the shanks of which are adapted to register with the shoulders of the diver, means securing the lower section of the V-shaped body to the divers belt, means feeding air into the shanks of (the V-shaped buoy in registry with each divers shoulder near the upper closed end of each shank of the V, and an elongated tube for the exhaust of air opening at an adjustable point of the lower part of each shank.

6. A buoy for divers comprising an inflatable V-shaped body the shanks of which are adapted to register with the divers shoulders, a broad belt for the diver surround ing the buoy, holding the latter secured to the divers belt and leaving free the upper sections of the V, means feeding air into the shanks of the V-shaped buoy in registry with each divers shoulder near the upper closed end of each shank of the V, and a sliding tube for the exhaustof air opening at an adjustable point of the lower part of each shank.

7. A buoy for divers comprising an inflatable V-shaped body the shanks of which are adapted to register with the divers shoulders, means securing the lower section of the V-shaped body to the divers belt, an inflatable collar surrounding the divers neck, a fluidtight box adapted to be fed with compresed air and to distribute it to the collar and to the shanks of the V-shaped buoy in registry with each divers shoulder near the upper closed end of each shank of the V, and a sliding \tube for the exhaust of air opening at an adjustable point of the lower part of each shan 8. A buoy for divers comprising an inflatable V-shaped body the shanks of which are adapted to register with the divers shoulders, means securing the lower section of the V-shaped body to the divers belt, means feeding air into the shanks of the V-shaped buoy in registry with each divers shoulder near the upper closed end of each shank of the V, an adjustable tube for the exhaust of air opening into an adjustable point of the lower part of each shank and easily releasable means securing the upper end of each shank to the shoulder of the divers diving suit.

9. An inflatable buoy for divers, comprising a body portion, means for securing the lower end of the body portion to the bottom of the chest of the diver, the body portion having two flexible lobes that diverge from each other upwardly and pass in front of the shoulders of the diver, means adjacent the junction of the lobes to maintain the lobes against the upper portion of the chest of the diver, readily detachable means maintaining the upper portions of the lobes drawn "back toward the body of the diver, and. means for introducing air under pressure into .the upper ends of .the lobes.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9, said readily detachable means comprising brush-like attachment members that resist lengthwise traction but yield readily .to perpendicular disengagement.

11. Apparatus as claimed in claim 9, said means for introducing air under pressure comprising two flexible tubes extending into one of the lobes, and both communicating with a feed tube for gas under pressure.

'12. Apparatus as claimed in claim 9, and means for the exhaust of air from a medial point of the length of the buoy, the last-named means offering substantially no impediment to the flow of air and water therethrough so as to maintain a fixed water level in the buoy.

13. Apparatus as claimed in claim 12, and means for altering the position of said last-named means lengthwise of the body so as to enable the selection of predetermined difierent water levels within the buoy.

14. Apparatus as claimed in claim 13, said last-named means comprising at least one upwardly extending tube open at both ends and slidable through a watertight joint in said body, the lower end of said tube being inside the buoy and the upper end of said tube being outside the buoy.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,878,474 9/1932 Drager et al. 9-313 MILTON BUCHLER, Primary Examin r. A. E. CORRIGAN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A BUOY FOR DIVERS COMPRISING AN INFLATABLE BODY ADAPTED TO BE LONGITUDINALLY SECURED OVER A DIVER''S BODY, MEANS FEEDING AIR INTO THE UPPER SECTION OF THE SAID BODY, AND MEANS FOR THE EXHAUST OF AIR OUT OF A MEDIAL POINT OF THE LENGTH OF THE BUOY, THE LAST-NAMED MEANS OFFERING 